black box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

is a device, object, or system whose inner workings are unknown; only the "stimuli inputs" and "output reactions" are known characteristics. Black box may also refer to:

Science and technology

Black box (phreaking) Black boxes were devices which, when attached to home phones, allowed all incoming calls to be received without charge to the caller. The black box (as distinguished from blue boxes and red boxes) was a small electronic circuit, usually a resi ...

, a device to defeat telephone toll charges * ''

Eucalyptus largiflorens ''Eucalyptus largiflorens'', or black box or river box, is a tree that is endemic to Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark, dull greenish-grey, lance-shaped leaves, oval to club-shaped green to yellow flower buds, white flowers and hemi ...

'', a tree species with the common name black box * A descrambling device for

cable television piracy Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a h ...

Transportation

Accident data recorder The accident data recorder (ADR, German commonly abbr.: UDS, also accident (data) writer) is an independent electronic device that records before, during, and after a traffic accident relevant data and thus resembles a flight recorder. It can ...

, an optional vehicle installable device to record information related to (near) traffic accidents *

Event data recorder An event data recorder (EDR), more specifically motor vehicle event data recorder (MVEDR), similar to an accident data recorder, (ADR) sometimes referred to informally as an automotive black box (by analogy with the common nickname for flight ...

, a device installed in some automobiles to record information related to vehicle crashes or accidents *

Flight recorder A flight recorder is an electronic recording device placed in an aircraft for the purpose of facilitating the investigation of aviation accidents and incidents. The device may often be referred to colloquially as a "black box", an outdated nam ...

, an aircraft-borne device used in disaster investigation, consisting of a flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder ** Flight operations quality assurance ** Quick access recorder *

Train event recorder A train event recorder – also called On-Train Monitoring Recorder (OTMR), On-Train Data Recorder (OTDR), Event Recorder System (ERS), Event Recorder Unit (ERU), or Juridical Recording Unit (JRU) – is a device that records data about the ope ...

, a device that records data about the operation of train controls and performance * Voyage data recorder, a device designed to collect data from various sensors on board a ship

Computing

Black box theory In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

, a systems engineering theory for black boxes *

Black-box testing Black-box testing, sometimes referred to as specification-based testing, is a method of software testing that examines the functionality of an application without peering into its internal structures or workings. This method of test can be applie ...

, a form of software testing that involves adjusting inputs to an application without reference to the source code of the application *

Blackbox Blackbox is a free and open-source stacking window manager for the X Window System. Blackbox has specific design goals, and some functionality is provided only through other applications. One example is the bbkeys hotkey application. Blackbox ...

, a window manager that works on X Window System platforms *

BlackBox Component Builder BlackBox Component Builder is an integrated development environment (IDE) optimized for component-based software development developed by a small spin-off company of ETH Zurich, Oberon microsystems AG, in Switzerland. The IDE consists of develop ...

, software development environment for Component Pascal *

Sun Modular Datacenter Sun Modular Datacenter (Sun MD, known in the prototype phase as Project Blackbox) is a portable data center built into a standard 20-foot intermodal container (shipping container), manufactured and marketed by Sun Microsystems (acquired in 2010 ...

, prototype name Project Blackbox

Medicine

*Any of a number of devices developed and sold by

Albert Abrams Albert Abrams (December 8, 1863 – January 13, 1924) was a fraudulent American physician, well known during his life for inventing machines, such as the "Oscilloclast" and the "Radioclast", which he falsely claimed could diagnose and cure almost ...

, based on the pseudo-science of radionics *

Black box warning In the United States, a boxed warning (sometimes "black box warning", colloquially) is a type of warning that appears near the beginning of the package insert for certain prescription drugs, so called because the U.S. Food and Drug Administratio ...

, a type of warning that may be applied to medicines in the United States

Film and television

* ''Black Box'' (1978 film), an American short film by Scott B and Beth B * ''Black Box'' (2002 film), an Argentine drama film (''Caja Negra'') * ''Black Box'' (2013 film), an American drama film * ''Black Box'' (2020 film), an American science-fiction horror film * ''Black Box'' (2021 film), a Franco-Belgian mystery thriller film * ''Black Box'' (TV series), a 2014 ABC television series * Black Box (''The Outer Limits''), an episode from the 1995 revival of that TV series * '' Survival in the Sky'', a TV series on the investigations of aviation accidents known as ''Black Box'' in the UK * ''The Black Box'' (2005 film), a French mystery film * ''The Black Box'' (serial), a 1915 film serial * Black Box (video magazine), a Hungarian documentary video magazine and filmmaking group

Games

* ''Black Box'' (game), board and computer game * ''Blackbox'' (video game), an iOS puzzle game *

EA Black Box EA Black Box (formerly Black Box Games) was a video game developer based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, founded in 1998 by former employees of Radical Entertainment and later acquired by Electronic Arts (EA). The developers are primarily k ...

, the video game studio formerly known as Black Box Games * ''The Black Box'', a canceled video game; See ''

The Orange Box ''The Orange Box'' is a video game compilation containing five games developed and published by Valve. Two of the games included—'' Half-Life 2'' and its first stand-alone expansion, '' Episode One''—had previously been released in 2004 ...

'' * A name used to refer to the first thirty games released on the ''

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

Literature

* ''Black Box'' (short story), a short story by Jennifer Egan * ''Black Box'' (novel), by Israeli writer Amos Oz * Black Box (comics) a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Marvel Universe * ''Black Box'', a novel by Mario Giordano * ''Black Box'', a memoir by

Shiori Itō , , is a Japanese journalist and filmmaker. Her work focuses on gender equality and human rights issues. Itō's activism led to her inclusion in the ''Time'' 100 Most Influential People of 2020. Itō gained international attention after speaki ...

* ''Blackbox'' (novel) by Nick Walker * ''The Black Box'' (novel) by Michael Connelly * '' La boîte noire'' ("The Black Box"), a Spirou et Fantasio comic album

Music

Black Box (band) Black Box is an Italian house music group popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The group is currently made up of DJ Daniele Davoli, classically trained clarinet teacher Valerio Semplici, keyboardist and electronic musician Mirko Limoni, an ...

, Italian electro-dance music group * "Black Box" (song), debut single of Australian ''Idol'' winner Stan Walker * ''

A Black Box ''A Black Box'' is the ninth studio album by Peter Hammill, released on S-Type Records in August 1980. Hammill performed nearly all the instrumentation himself, including the drum parts, a task he had first undertaken on his previous album '' ...

'', an album by Peter Hammill * '' Black Box – Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years'', a Wax Tax Box set album * ''Black Box'' (Brown Eyed Girls album), album by South Korean group Brown Eyed Girls * ''Black Box'' (Naked City album), compilation album by Naked City * '' Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978'', a Black Sabbath album * ''The Black Box'' (album), a box set album by Danish rock band Gasolin'

Other uses

Black box theater A black box theater is a performance space, typically a square or rectangular room, with black walls and a black, flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interact ...

, simple unadorned performance space *

Nuclear football The nuclear football, officially the Presidential Emergency Satchel, is a briefcase, the contents of which are to be used by the president of the United States to communicate and authorize a nuclear attack while away from fixed command centers, ...

, the briefcase that accompanies the President of the United States and contains nuclear missile launch codes, nicknamed "Black Box" *

Censor bars Censor bars, also known as black bars, are a basic form of text, photography, and video censorship in which "sensitive" information or images are occluded by black, gray, or white rectangular boxes. These bars have been used to censor various parts ...

Black box trading Algorithmic trading is a method of executing orders using automated pre-programmed trading instructions accounting for variables such as time, price, and volume. This type of trading attempts to leverage the speed and computational resources of ...

or algorithmic trading *

Black Box Corporation Black Box Corporation is an IT company headquartered in Texas, United States. The company provides technology assistance and consulting services to businesses in a variety of sectors including retail, transportation, government, education, and pub ...

, a supplier of computer network hardware based in Mumbai, India and Dallas, Texas * Black box approach to the function of states in international relations in theories such as realism and neorealism * BlackBox (radio station), a radio station in Bordeaux, France * Black Box (Handcuff Cover)